4 What is the greatest common factor of 12 and 80 ?

To find the greatest common factor (GCF) of 12 and 80, start by breaking down both numbers into their prime factors. The prime factorization of 12 is 2² × 3, while 80 is 2⁴ × 5. The common prime factor here is 2. The minimum exponent for this common factor is 2, giving us the GCF of 2², which equals 4. So, the GCF of 12 and 80 is 4! If you're ever stuck on finding the GCF, a great method is the "listing out factors" technique. Simply list all the factors for each number: for example, the factors of 12 are 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 12, while the factors for 80 are 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 16, 20, 40, and 80. From there, it's easy to spot the largest number they both share, which in this case is 4! Just remember, patience is key in math!